CW: mild spoilers below Octave was a one of a kind and down to earth comingofage romance that I especially enjoyed due to its excellent characters and semirealistic representation of samesex relationships. Our heroine Yukino Miyashita had debuted in idol group ShesN at just 15 years old. Like many of us at some point Yukino longed for the attention and stardom that idol life would grant her. Unfortunately the group ended up disbanding causing Yukino to return to her small town where she ultimately drops out of school due to the harassment and ridicule she endures. It honestly subverted some of my expectations in that its not packed to the brim full of cliche or tropey elements I often see in a lot of yuri manga. Its a refreshing read and I really recommend it if youre not really one for highschool romance. To me it is definitely romance focused but it does dip its toes into heavier themes. OH ALSO I just wanna say the sex scenes are like....everywhere. Theyre not really male gazey or meant to be objectifying which i quite liked. Theyre very sweet If thats not your cup of tea you can easily enjoy the series by skipping over them as the story doesnt really hinge on the sex too much except for when its regarding things like infidelity and Yukinos exploration of her bisexuality. Our heroine Yukino Miyashita is in my opinion one of the best characters. A lot of the time she is insufferable mainly due to the constant cloud of melodrama hovering around her every thought but her flaws and struggles are so human and relatable that I found myself truly rooting for her. She is deeply flawed and has barely any selfesteem to cling to pride damaged from her lack of success as an idol with an immense proclivity for crying all the damn time but thats simply what made her so enjoyable to me. Watching this messy emotional young girl navigate her turbulent emotions and slowly but gradually come to stand on her own two feet is so satisfying. I think because of our closeness in age Yukino being 18 and me being 19 I felt a sort of kinship with her. The same goes for her girlfriend Setsuko Iwai. The start of Yukino and Setsukos relationship is sexually charged a one night stand that in a rush of touchstarvation and desire quickly becomes something so much more complicated. If Yukino is the constantly undulating sea Setsuko is absolutely the stable rock by the shore. She is this coolheaded and mature beauty that Yukino admires 4 years older with an already nearly wellrounded character. Despite being levelheaded and frank with her values she has difficulty communicating emotionally especially at the start of the relationship. She takes Yukinos virginity and the next day she treats her like shes nothing to her when really she simply didnt know what she was supposed to say. Its frustrating at times when the two of them simply dont communicate enough. Setsuko is charming in the way she starts off almost cold but as she and Yukino grow in their relationship she begins to allow herself to be more open despite her fears of vulnerability. Their relationship is lovely and although I feel like it started off almost a little unhealthy in the way Yukino seemed so dependent on Setsuko to give her a sort of purpose I think that in the story they had a lot of room to grow and really understand and love one another. They go through lots of trials and tribulations especially regarding Yukinos newly explored bisexuality as a young woman being in a relationship with a woman for the first time jealousy as well as handling the homophobia of Yukinos once close friend towards their relationship. I feel like Im kinda rambling right now but another thing I enjoyed about Octave was definitely the glimpse into the idol entertainment industry. Through Yukinos lense as a former idol still working in the industry we see the impact it has had on herself as well as her former idol group members and the way she is treated. The chapter where Yukino meets up with all her old group mates is honestly so depressing but its not at all unrealistic one of her old members jealously talking shit about one of ShesNs former members immense success as a solo singer. This depiction of internalized misogyny as well as the effect of exploitation in the idol industry pornography industry and even gravure modeling was refreshing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 3